When you make a promise to God, don’t be slow to keep it because God doesn’t like fools. Keep your promise. It is better not to make a promise than to make one and not keep it.
Ecclesiastes 5:4–5
When you know you are supposed to do something but you don’t do it right away, that’s not obedience but disobedience. In order for it to be obedience, you have to do it immediately, not later on when you “have time.” A lot of people know what they are supposed to do but take their own sweet time doing it so that they can do something else first. But just knowing the truth is worthless if you don’t act on it too (see James 1:22–25). Procrastination isn’t a biblical value; in fact, in spiritual matters it is completely unbiblical and leads to sin, that is, disobedience. When your commander orders you to march and you stay seated, saying, “I’ll do it in just a minute,” you are not following orders but disobeying a direct command, and there’s gonna be a price to pay. When you promise God you’ll do something—whether it’s obeying his Word, honoring him, loving him, or serving him—and then you’re slow to get to it, you’re a fool.
It can be easy to put God at the middle or even bottom of the list. There are pressing things that need to get done, and God doesn’t press; he whispers. So your promises to him can be easily forgotten or saved for later, but each time that you wait on doing what you know you need to do spiritually, you move further and further away from the lover of your soul, and you set yourself up for trouble. Keep your promises quickly, or make no promise at all. What have you promised to God and to yourself regarding him? Take control of your life and do what you know needs to be done today, and you will discover the blessings that come from a life bent on obedience.